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Ben Boulware brings new fans to Panthers camp

Clemson lineman Ben Boulware signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent.

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Bryson Todd, 8, wears his Clemson hat to opening night of Carolina Panthers training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Todd said he was just becoming a Panthers fan because of Ben Boulware's addition to the team. (Photo: LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff)Buy Photo

Bryson Todd, 8, sat in Gibbs Stadium at Wofford College on Wednesday night with a Carolina Panthers blue and black cat scratch painted across his face and a Clemson Tigers hat on his head.

"I'm just becoming a Panthers fan," Bryson said.

He's following in his dad's footsteps, attracted to the NFL team because of rookie linebacker Ben Boulware, a former Clemson Tiger.

This was Bryson's first experience at the Carolina Panthers' training camp, a two-week series of practices held every year at Gibbs Stadium. Fans come to watch open practices, see favorite players up close and maybe even snag an autograph.

This year brought out a number of newcomers as the Panthers added Boulware, an Upstate native, to the roster. The T.L. Hanna High School graduate made a name for himself as a member of Clemson's national championship team. He is trying to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.

"He (Boulware) said he hoped to see a lot of orange out here," said Cathy Boyer of Tryon, North Carolina, as she motioned toward an orange hat with a white Tiger Paw. "I've never been to training camp. I work right up the road, but this is my first time. Boulware is the whole reason we're here."

Aaiden Bell, 5, winces from the cold as Denise Smith airbrushes his face before opening night of Carolina Panthers training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff

Bobby and Keisha Rookard of Spartanburg enjoy the shade of an umbrella as Panthers Fans enter the stadium for opening night of Carolina Panthers training camp at Wofford College on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff

Bryson Todd, 8, wears his Clemson hat to opening night of Carolina Panthers training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Todd said he was just becoming a Panthers fan because of Ben Boulware's addition to the team. LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff

Young Panthers fans wait in the stands for practice to start during opening night of Carolina Panthers training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. LAUREN PETRACCA/Staff

Carolina is one of just two teams in the NFL that has yet to draft a Clemson Tiger.

Boulware went undrafted in April, even after winning Defensive MVP in the national championship game and the Jack Lambert Award for Best Linebacker. He signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent.

“But here’s a young man in our backyard who went undrafted – I’m not quite sure why – but this is a young man that has been very successful in his career and has played on a very successful team and helped lead them to a national championship," Rivera said. "He’s a winner."

Despite the high praise, Boulware's fate with the Panthers isn't sealed. He'll face rounds of cuts in a few weeks when the team trims for the season.

Clemson fans who pull for the Panthers have high hopes for Boulware's future with the team.

“I hope Boulware makes the team,” said Jody Stoner of Six Mile. “He’s a good kid. He works hard.”

Kerry Collins was quarterback the last time Stoner came to camp, he said. Collins played for the Panthers from 1995 to 1998.

Boulware, a Clemson fan favorite, is one reason Stoner returned this year with his 11-year-old son in tow. They’re Clemson fans and recently had the chance to meet Boulware at a Walmart in Anderson.

Stoner hopes his son will have a similar experience at camp.

“I just really hope he gets to meet a player — just the excitement on his face to get to see a player,” Stoner said. “He’s got a bag full of things he wants to get autographed. We’ll bring him out here as often as we can, most of my days off work we’ll be out here.”

Clemson fans are not alone. For two weeks each summer, Gibbs Stadium is packed with Panthers fans of all different backgrounds, many of whom are pulling for players they loved watching at the college level.

A quick poll of fans filing into the stands on Wednesday night found supporters of the South Carolina Gamecocks, Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs and Wofford Terriers. All were excited to see former players now wearing the blue and black.

The Carolina Panthers have trained at Spartanburg's Wofford College each summer since 1995. Tim Ellis hasn't missed a single year. He attended the parade at the beginning of the inaugural season.

"The crowd is much bigger now," he said.

He's happy to see the growth. He believes it's a testament to the support owner Jerry Richardson has pumped into the Spartanburg community.

"Half of what you see here is because of him, I believe."

This year he brought his 4-year-old grandsons Micah Johnson and Samuel Wachorn for their first camp experience. Like so many of the kids in the stands, they're hoping to get an autograph and meet a player.

They have a good shot. The training camp was ranked in the top five in the league for fan friendliness by Sports Illustrated's Peter King.

Dr. Ted Fashner, of Spartanburg, has been to the camp every year for the past five years. His advice to newcomers is simple, "bring a Sharpie and bring something for them to sign."

Fashner has plans to get autographs while the team is in town, but he said he'll come back another day if there is a crowd of kids waiting to meet players.

"I don't want to push kids out of the way," he said. "I want them to get their chance."

His favorite part of having camp in town is the unity it brings – people of all different kinds come together in Gibbs Stadium for two weeks each summer to see a preview of what their "hometown" team will look like.

“It means a lot to the whole community," he said, "not only the money, because I know a lot of money is brought in for our community, but the spirit of everyone being out here together.”